With each passing year, it gets more difficult to imagine a restaurant that could even come close to challenging Saffron, the incumbent in this category. Who else but executive chef Sameh Wadi could make lamb brains not only palatable but pleasurable to eat, with sweet and glossy olive oil-stewed tomatoes? Who takes the oft-maligned white cauliflower and, by pairing it with a pungent fondue of feta cheese, elevates it to rock-star level? Where else can you find cured and dried Turkish beef that would excite and convert even the staunchest advocate of American-style jerky? In short, who else is making an entire metro population think differently about Middle Eastern cuisine? It's Saffron every time.